


i love you cause i love you cause i can

by The_Doom_Dahlia



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Female Character, Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, Found Family, Hypothermia, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Multi, Stevie Nicks - Freeform, Suicide Attempt, and a new mom, r.a.s let cheryl have a good family challenge, that's where Mary comes in
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 22:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16606310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Doom_Dahlia/pseuds/The_Doom_Dahlia
Summary: cheryl has a lot of recovery to go through, but maybe finally having a mom who gives a damn about her will do some good.(aka 'let cheryl blossom be happy and have positive adults in her life')title from 'junkie church' by ajj





	1. cold snap

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is some major canon divergence
> 
> everything after cheryl was left at the pembrooke by the core four (because they're dumbasses who wanted to go to a stupid-ass jubilee instead of helping their friend) didn't happen. no fred getting shot, no burning of thistlehouse, nothing
> 
> i hope you enjoy!

Love was the tether that kept Mary bound to Riverdale. First it was the love of her family as she grew up, then her marriage to Fred before that fell apart. Nowadays, it was Archie that kept her coming back. She loved her son, his eyes covered by rose tinted glasses and his faith in humanity unwavered, and that care kept her returning to the town of her youth. Riverdale wasn’t what it used to be, but she couldn’t find it in her heart to mourn its loss. There was only the promise of patience while she waited for her son to graduate and her ties to the town to be severed at last.

This wasn’t to be, but Mary couldn’t find it in her heart to be unhappy over it.

It began in December, a cold snap bearing down on the hamlet like a hand around the throat. She’d come to town to visit her son and her soon-to-be ex-husband, bearing gifts and renting one of the small houses by the river for a few weeks. She’d stay until the new year, spend time with Archie, play a couple games of checkers with Fred in an attempt to be friends for Archie’s sake and their own, and see about getting FP out of police custody. Then it’d be off to Chicago until the next time she’d be able to come up and see her son.

That was the plan, at least, until Archie returned home one afternoon with a far away look in his eyes and a heavily wrapped right hand. It took some pressing before he admitted what had happened. “Cheryl fell through the ice. Don’t worry, we got her up and out and now she’s at the Pembrooke getting warm, but it got really sc-!” he began, but was cut off by Mary surging to her feet and pushing her chair out with a screeching creak.

“ _You left her alone?_ ” she asked, voice hushed with concealed anger and unhidden shock.

Archie blinked at his mother in surprise. “Well, yeah! She needed some time alone, she seemed kinda shaky.”

“Did you take her to the hospital?” Mary asked, hands put forward in a silent plea for her son to have done the right thing.

There was a pause, then Archie softly asked “Was I supposed to?”

Spluttering burst from Mary’s throat, her hands curling into fists and releasing over and over again, as she tried to make sense of her son’s actions. Finally, she put her face in her hands and sighed, running them down over her skin before reaching and grabbing her coat. “What room is she in?"

“Mom-!”

“What room is she in, Archie?”

“403, what’re you doing?” he asked, stepping aside while his mother got ready to go out into the snows of Riverdale. There was a mission set before her, Archie could tell, and he tried to get her to settle down. “She’s gonna be fine, mom, she just needs some time alone!”

Fred, whose silent moments had been spent trying to make sense of what was going on, finally piped up. “Jesus, Arch, she’s gonna take Cheryl to the hospital!”

There was a sudden frantic burst of energy behind Archie’s eyes. “Oh no, you don’t need to do that. She’ll be fine, we got her by the fire, there’s nothing to worry about!” he plead with his parents. Fred listened, flannel-covered arms folded, but Mary was already pulling on her gloves and grabbing her purse.

“No, Archie, I’m taking her to the hospital. You should have done it in the first place, for goodness’s sake! I made you take that first aid class in middle school for a reason, young man, and you know that you’re supposed to get help for these kinds of things! I’ve seen Cheryl Blossom, I’ve heard all about her family, and she doesn’t need hypothermia on top of all of that. Now, you’re going to stay here with your dad and think about what you’ve done while I take her to the hospital. Do you understand me?”

Archie was silent for a moment before hanging his head and nodding.

“Good. I’ll be back later. Fred, there’s soup in the fridge. Do _not_ take him out to Pops.” Mary instructed. She didn’t even wait to see him nod before trudging out into the snow. If Archie wasn't going to help this girl, she would.


	2. baby steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> having grabbed cheryl from the pembrooke, mary spends some time with her while driving to the hospital

Bobbie Gentry, low and sweet, piped over the tinny radio speakers in Mary’s little blue station wagon as she drove. In that moment, she was eternally grateful that she’d gotten snow tires as she navigated carefully over Riverdale’s frozen streets. The town was decorated to the nines in red and green, ready for Christmas despite everything. Mary didn’t pay it much mind. Hanukkah had come and gone, so her holidays were over. Besides, she had more important things to focus on.

“How’re you feeling?” she asked Cheryl gently, making sure the heater was pointed at the still trembling girl in the passenger seat. It had taken more faux lawyering to get up to the room, heavily guarded as it was so certain people couldn’t get in, but Cheryl had come gratefully with her after learning who she was and where she wanted to take her. 

Cheryl shrugged, eyes half-lidded as she rocked back and forth gently. She was shivering all over, lips tinted bluer than usual but slowly fading back into pink. “I,” she began, taking a deep and shaky breath. “I’m sleepy, Mrs. Andrews.” she admitted, her voice slurring, leaning slowly against the window and starting to shut her eyes.

Mary launched into action, flicking the radio to a static station and turning the volume as high as it could go. There was a whine of pain as Cheryl clamped her hands over her ears, and Mary could feel it in her bones. But it worked still, and she flicked it back onto a Fleetwood Mac song and turned to her newly awakened companion. “Hey, hey, no sleeping yet.” she warned, reaching to pat her shoulder and pulling away when the girl flinched. She rested her hand on her thigh as she spoke. “We’re almost to the hospital.”

Cheryl didn’t respond, just leaning into the warmth of the heater as her whole body trembled. Her breathing was shallow, eyes half-lidded still. But she was awake, and Mary was determined to keep it that way.

“So, how’d you and Archie get so close?” she asked her, clearly fumbling a little for questions to keep the girl awake. When bleary eyes turned to her, she repeated the question gently.

The girl swallowed thickly, voice coming out soft and weak. “He helped me with my mom.” she admitted, rocking back and forth still, her voice foggy and eyes distant. “Him and Jughead and Betty and Ronnie.” she explained, tugging her blankets tighter around herself.

“Well, I’m glad you’re friends. I’m glad he got you out, Cheryl.” Mary told her sincerely, looking over to her as they made it to a stoplight. “I know a lot of people would be sad if you’d gotten really hurt, honey.”

The word made Cheryl pause in her swaying, hugging herself tighter and laughing weakly. “No one would miss me, Mrs. Andrews.” she said, forcing her voice to be clear. It sounded like something she’d accepted a long time ago and if that cracked Mary’s heart, what she said next shattered it. “The only person who’d miss me is dead.”

There was a pause and then Mary spoke, peering out through the gently falling snow as the light changed and she kept driving. “You can call me Mary, Cheryl. We’re friends now, if you want, and I always let my friends call me Mary. Plenty of people would miss you, honey. Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, all of them. I’m sure there’s plenty of other people at school who’d miss you too.”

Cheryl thought about the other people at school. The River Vixens, more victims than friends. Josie and her Pussycats, clawing their way to the top as their leader burrowed her way into the depths of the sheet-rock brick she called a heart. The legions of nameless, faceless students who thought her either a beast to be feared or some shrinking violet to be pitied. In a better state, she’d have argued tooth and nail with Mary about whether she’d be missed or not.

But now wasn’t the time. Instead, she just hummed in absentminded agreement and rested against the back of the chair. She found herself dozing off again, only to be awakened by a delighted noise from Mary as the radio turned to a guitar line that Cheryl recognized dully in the back of her sickness-weakened mind. The music was turned up, and the volume made the girl wince until she realized what it was. ‘Edge of Seventeen’. She found herself laughing before she could stop it. It felt like a joke from the universe, mocking her for all the suffering she’d been through before her seventeenth birthday even came. She shook with it, the force making her cough and bend forward violently. She felt like she was going to be sick.

Suddenly, gently hands took hold of her and helped her to sit up. Mary pulled her hands away after bundling the blanket tighter around Cheryl once more. They were at the hospital, the song almost over, as the younger returned to her senses. Blinking slightly, still sluggish and cold, she registered the question first as a dull murmur. Turning to Mary, she tilted her head sleepily in confusion. When her brain caught up and recognized it as “Are you alright?”, Cheryl found herself smiling weakly.

“Maybe.” she said.

Mary nodded, not sure how to feel, and climbed out of her car after shutting it off. She opened the door, reaching out to gently help Cheryl out of the car and inside. Her arms curled around her, holding her up as they walked. Despite being mentally stronger, Cheryl was still physically weak from her ordeal. “Baby steps, honey, baby steps.”

The pet name struck a chord deep in Cheryl’s heart, but she didn’t let it register fully. “Baby steps.” she repeated and entered the warmth of the hospital, clutching onto Mary like a child to their mother.


End file.
